1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to devices adapted to transport bales and more particularly to a universal bale transport shuttle capable of transporting broken and irregular bales.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various devices are used in a number of industries to transport baled, paletted, or contained goods. The present invention is directed to devices adapted to transport baled goods such as farm commodities.
Throughout each state of the United States and in almost every province of Canada grass, clover, alfalfa, and the like are grown as feed stock for foraging livestock. These crops are cut, baled, and often stored before they are used as feed. Perhaps the most important of these foraging crops is alfalfa.
Alfalfa is grown both as a cash crop sold to ranchers and the like for winter feed for livestock and by dairymen who feed alfalfa in large quantities in order to produce extra-rich milk.
Once alfalfa has matured it is usually cut with a mower conditioner or a self propelled windrower. After the mowing process the cut alfalfa lays in the field in a long row or a series of rows. Because the alfalfa will rot if left in the field it must be gathered and placed in storage.
The most popular method of gathering and storing alfalfa is to gather it in tight bales that are bound together by either plastic or sisal twine. These bales may be rectangular or round. Rectangular bales are usually moved, stacked, and then stored for eventual sale or feeding. It is not necessary to stack round bales and many growers simply leave the bales in the producing field at the point at which they were discharged from the baler. However, since these bales will encumber later cuttings they are usually transported for storage after the baling process.
Gathering alfalfa and the like in rectangular bales is more labor intensive since the bales must be stacked. However, balers forming either large or small rectangular bales are available. Because of their size and mass large rectangular bales are difficult to stack or move and until now there has not been an easy method of handling these bales. Additionally, it is known that rectangular bales decompose more quickly than round bales. It is for these reasons that most commercial alfalfa producers utilize round bales.
Round and rectangular bales bound with plastic twine are less likely to fall apart with time than bales bound in sisal or hemp twine. However, plastic twine poses a serious hazard to livestock since livestock often ingest or trip on spent plastic twine. In order to avoid this problem many farmers and ranchers utilize sisal twine or hemp rope.
Bales bound with sisal or hemp twine eventually become irregularly shaped since the twine stretches over time. After more time the twine rots through and the bales break apart.
Several round bale transport devices are currently available. For example, High-Line Mfg, Inc., Box 307, Vonda, SK, SOK 4NO (Canada) offers a device capable of moving a plurality of round bales. However, this device cannot load, transport, and unload broken or irregular shaped bales and is not adapted to transport rectangular bales. Additionally, bales transported in this fashion deteriorate more quickly since movement of the bale leaves another portion of the bale exposed to the terrain surface.
A somewhat similar device is also available from Roose Mfg., Co. Box 322, Pella, Iowa 50219. In addition to having the same disadvantages as the Laurier device the Roose device is difficult to load and unload. Finally, DewEze Mfg., Co., Rt. 2, Box 73, Harper, Kans. 87058 provides a retrofit device adapted to convert a standard pickup into a two round bale transport vehicle. This device is not adapted to load, transport, and unload broken or irregular shaped bales and is not adapted to transport rectangular bales. Additionally, bales located on uneven terrain may not be loaded safely since there is a danger the pickup will be toppled while attempting to load bales from an inclined surface.
Until now rectangular and broken or irregularly shaped bales have been difficult if not impossible to transport.